Officials at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood, Fla., paraded Howard around after telling him he had won nearly US$260,000, even presenting him a giant cardboard cheque, but told him nearly 15 hours later he had won nothing.

Howard said he was showered with attention Aug. 29 after he swiped his Players Club card and was told he had won the free promotional game. But he spent hours waiting anxiously for the $259,945 before managers called him into an empty room.

"They just said, 'You know the jackpot that you won? We're not going to pay it,"' said Howard, 53, of Sunny Isles Beach. "It was like I was in a movie. I couldn't believe it."

As part of the Seminole reservation, the casino is not governed by state or local laws. The Seminole Tribal Gaming Commission is investigating Howard's complaint, and he has hired a lawyer.

TORONTO -- A downtown Toronto Asian restaurant's female executive chef worries the owner's decision to serve sushi atop near-naked models during the film festival will degrade the restaurant.

Clothed only in bikini swimwear and banana leaves, a male and female model will lie on the bar and have Toronto International Film Festival patrons eat sushi off their bodies.

The restaurant's owner, Patrick Mallon, says the traditional concept is for the model to be completely naked, but they're not going to be that risque.

The veteran skydiver did it to break his own world record of 534 jumps in a 24-hour period. There was no immediate word when his new record might be confirmed by Guinness World Records.

"I feel a little bit tired but I think I'll be OK," the exhausted former U.S. army Green Beret said yesterday morning at Greensburg Municipal Airport after finishing.

VERGENNES, Vt. -- A woman who learned six weeks before her wedding that her fiance was cheating on her is turning her would-be reception into a charity benefit.

Kyle Paxman, 29, had planned to celebrate her nuptials at the Basin Harbor Club on Lake Champlain yesterday. When she found out about her fiance, she called off the 180-guest wedding and the four-year relationship.

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